Do you have a green thumb, and no space?

According to Diane Cook, head of the Sippican School Garden Club, vertical farming is the way of the future.

"They use less space, and less water," she told a group of children assembled at Sippican School's Community Garden on July 12.

Cook and the children built a vertical garden out of an old shipping pallet.

"Pallets are great, because they're already built and just waiting for us," she said, pointing to a previously-constructed pallet garden near the Garden Club's greenhouse.

That pallet featured succulents, desert plants requiring little water. The garden that Cook and the children constructed, however, was a vertical herb garden.

"What's an herb?" Cook asked the children. "Here's a hint: It's not a man's name!"

Pallet gardens are built by liberally wetting down potting soil and pouring it through the open top of a pallet stood on its side.The children planted sage before pouring more dirt, then parsley, thyme, mint and basil.

"No basil at the bottom!" Cook cautioned. "Bunnies love it!"

The program was part of the Elizabeth Taber Library's "Build a Better World" summer program.